This invention relates to a machine for crimping fittings on hose, and more particularly to a crimp machine that is relatively simple in construction and is relatively small and lightweight and therefore suited for use in the field.
Many designs of crimp machines have been provided in the past for crimping a socket of a hose fitting in order to secure the fitting to the hose. Such machines normally include a set of crimp dies which are arranged in a circle around a fitting to be crimped, and a hydraulically powered mechanism for forcing the dies against the socket of the fitting. Most crimp machines of this nature are relatively large and are operated at factories and distributor locations, because of their size and weight. Smaller crimp machines have, however, been provided, which are suitable for use in the field, but they have been relatively complex in construction and therefore expensive to manufacture.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,731,518 to G. L. Blocker describes a crimp machine for assembling hose fittings. The Blocker machine includes a set of dies mounted on two die support bodies, and a mechanism for moving the two bodies together in order to confine and then crimp a fitting positioned between the bodies. The machine described in the Blocker patent is disadvantageous in that it includes relatively complex mechanisms, and the dies of the set are not all identical, thereby requiring an inventory of numerous repair parts and different designs of dies.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved crimp machine which avoids the foregoing disadvantages.